Lang Lang

I've just watched some of the series (beginning from the part 4 which you linked here) and am very impressed! At least the part 4-5 is very instructive (also to me) and LL is a serious musician and good teacher there. BTW I was very sorry about that poor girl with the Waldstein sonata. She seems to have chosen/played a too difficult piece for her.

 

Very good master class.

 

My former teacher (no mean artist herself) told me about attending a LL masterclass, and being very impressed by his musicality and sincerity. I guess that has always colored my appreciation of him a bit.

 

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No need to get nasty :evil: . Given that music is an art of sound, and people (and soloists) at a recital are disturbed by sneezing, coughing, OMG talking, squeeky chairs, noisy air systems, crashing doors, passing sirens, overflying aircraft, etc. in short, anything but absolute silence, what can one do when it is the ARTIST that provides the noise? The arrogance is amply demonstrated in that if Gould performed IN PUBLIC and members of the audience were to hum along, HE would never have tolerated the very behavior he practiced (sort of like Keith Jarrett). Now who in their right mind would criticize Richter or Gilels?

 

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Well it is obvious that you and I will never agree on this but that's OK. I feel that you are so enamored with the messenger that you miss the sender. It isn't about Landowska, Gould, Richter, Tureck or even Felstman or Perahia, its about Bach. Performers are to convey the composer interpretively, and I think that Gould did a fine job of doing that, except that he marred everything by interpolating not just his spirit, but his noise too. No man or woman has the right or priviledge to do that. Everyone does have the right and priviledge to pursue the beauty of a composer's work to the best of their ability for themselves. For some, the quality that they achieve is also suitable for others to enjoy. For a few, it is of such high standard that it is for all (the world) to experience, but it does not mean necessarily that it will be liked by all. Given Gould's own expressed opinion of other people (the rest of humanity besides himself), it is apparent that he was little more than a Bach monastic, who enjoyed his own private charismatic or mystical worship and had no interest in the leading of community worship of Bach. So be it. I say the following with all seriousness as a physician: Gould was not normal, in the sense that people who go around talking to themselves are not normal (let alone his microphobia, and I don't mean microphones). Say he wasn't a pianist, but a harpist or violinist, or better yet a flautist or an oboist. Would you still think he was Zeus himself descended from Parnasus to reveal the great Bach through performances with humming and all? Please. You should note, that my crazy hypothetical just now removes the pianist entirely for the sake of the composer! That's where the importance is to be. But alas, others will think otherwise. And so the world turns.

 

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What a great discussion my post about LL has sparked ! One that could go on for ever and ever, as both contestants hurl massive iron-clad arguments into each other without yielding so much as one inch.

Personally I do not understand GG worshipping any more than I understand LL bashing. For all his undeniable genius, I find GG at times totally perverse, dissecting the music like a pathologist, and producing performances close to parody of the music. Obviously being such a genius he's allowed all that, plus hum through it all, while LL is denied the right to pull a face or shape a performance the way he wants it (this is then dubbed a massacre). It seems a bit unfair to me. While LL does not have GG's massive intellect and contrapuntal skill, I do find him the more versatile musician of the two. Where GG is a man on a mission, LL is a guy enjoying himself. Al least you have the possibility to ignore his funny faces, while you can't well shut out GG's obtrusive vocals.

Nice speculation whether or not Bach would have tolerated GG's humming, or even have approved of his playing. It's possible, just as IMHO it's possible that Bartok would have approved of LL's rendition of his Sonata. As is rightly said, we do not know the composer's "will" never mind how many directions they wrote in their scores.

 

Marik,
I'm not sure if you have missed a point of mine. I do accept Gould as an inovative and important interpreter of Bach, SANS THE VOCALIZING! I can't appreciate any kind of genius at the piano with someone humming in my ear. That's all. If the humming were coming from an audience member they would be quickly removed from the premesis. What am I to do if it's the artist? Determine never to go to his concerts, or buy his recordings (this despite the fact that I own LPs of him performing the Inventions, Sinfonias, Partitas, and the entire WTK).

 

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Yep, that's some seriously ugly bashing. When LL is good he's great, when he's bad he's awful.

It probably will. But that won't be your fault Marik

 

Marik, judging by what you chose to make issue with ... I think you need to see a proctologist for possible removal of a foreign body. This has now descended below the level of a discourse on ideas. I leave you to pick someone else to argue with.

 

Gee Eddy, I had not expected you to throw in the towel so soon.
But you do so in great style, I say. A masterly final flourish ! Roll on the proctologist jokes :lol:

Who else will take up the challenge now, I wonder ? I so love to follow a good heated argument

 

Why thank you Chris. I actually thought I would be excommunicated. :shock:

 

Something missing on this board quite a bit

Hello Muscal-MD,

Thank you for your professional opinion! Before following your advice seeing a proctologist I better remove another foreign body first, i.e. my messages, so hope everybody is happy and the issue is closed.

Thanks everybody for your attention.

Best, M

 

Lang Lang is his own style of pianist. I am one who appreciates his style. Especially on Chopin's Heroique Polonaise. He may seem extreme, but he brings his own style of emotion to piano.

 

I think part of the reason pianists look to the stage ceiling when they perform is to prove that they have the music so well memorized, there's no question that they can play without looking at the keys.. it's like the whole "look mommy I'm riding my bike without holding the handlebars" accomplishment. I think it is kind of silly. I don't really mind Lang Lang's theatrics.

This reminds me-- I remember seeing a video on youtube and someone put this in the comments section of Barenboim playing Sonata Pathetique by Beethoven:

1st subject after introduction (1:51) according to:

Glenn Gould: Play it unnecessarily fast.

Willhelm Kempff: Play it like the score says.

Sviatoslav Richter: Play it like I want to play it.

Arthur Rubinstein: Make it sing... kind of like Chopin.

Lang Lang: Shake maniacally while you play it.

Barenboim: Play it, such that it sounds good.

I don't think Lang Lang thinks, "gee I should shake maniacally when I play something." After watching his performance of Bartok's Piano Sonata I think it was clear that his movement while playing shows he is connected to the music. Now I don't know why he looked at the sheet music while he was bouncing on the piano bench--if that was me the idea of using the sheet music at help would be worthless. I'm sure he memorized the music, the sheet music was there just in case.

I also saw a really funny video featuring LL and Tom and Jerry :lol: enjoy: